Issued 1953- 1955    Length 70mm

 

The RAC (Royal Automobile Club) Patrol was the first of four versions of the RAC motorcycle & sidecar outfits which Morestone and, later, Budgie Toys issued. The real vehicles were a common sight on British roads in the 1950's and 1960's. Morestone and Budgie also produced four parallel models of the AA (Automobile Association) Motorcyles.

 

Cast in one piece without steering, the Series 1 RAC motorcycle was always painted a glossy black with white trim on the number-plates and headlight. There was no screen. Other toy makers made similar models at the time but all the Morestone motorcycles had plain number-plates.

 

The blue sidecar of the RAC Patrol was a hollow casting with a seperately cast lifting lid and the RAC crest on the front. Two variations were produced, one without identification, the other with 'Made in England' cast underneath.

 

The sidecar connected to the motorcycle at the front by a sub-frame which had a linking arm fixed to the bike just below the handlebars. This could be either unpainted or finished in glossy black. At the rear, the wheels of bike and sidecar were linked together by a shared axle. The mudguard part of the sidecar was a separate casting and always painted black.

 

Models with a black sidecar frame had black painted wheels indicating that for this variation the bike, frame and wheels were assembled before painting. Models with unpainted frames were fitted with unpainted wheels. All three wheels of the model were the same in both size and colour and had straight spokes.

 

The metal patrolman wore the RAC dark-blue uniform with white gauntlets and flat white-topped cap. Skin-colour trim was added to the face.

 

The box had the RAC logo on all four sides as well as on the end-flaps and was printed in red and blue with an illustration on each face. The words 'Morestone Series' was also included on all four sides and end-flaps, perhaps in an attempt to differentiate the Morestone RAC Patrol from similar models from other toymakers.

 

The Series 1 RAC Patrol is quite a common model but hard to find in unplayed-with condition. The variation with black wheels is more scarce, and the box is becoming rare.